Six years ago, Kamani Hill was living the life as a soccer player, a 20-year-old starter for a first-division team, Wolfsburg, of the prestigious German Bundesliga. That’s not easy for any player, especially not for an American.

But since that heady time in late 2006, Hill’s career has involved a string of disappointments.

A coaching change at Wolfsburg during his first season contributed to his falling out of favor until his departure in 2009. Then came two lost years spent mostly sitting on the bench for Vitória de Guimarães in Portugal, followed by a year of being completely shut out of pro ball. But Hill may have finally found a soccer home again — with the Rapids.

Despite coming off the bench this season for coach Oscar Pareja, Hill enters tonight’s MLS match with the Montreal Impact tied for the team scoring lead, with three goals. This, despite appearing in only nine games and 289 minutes played. Colorado’s two other players with three goals — Jaime Castrillon and Omar Cummings — have each played a minimum of 800 minutes.

The way Hill has played, Pareja may have no choice but to start him for the first time professionally since those brief glory days in Germany.

“The opportunity was presented to him, and he’s taken it well,” Pareja said. “We’re happy, and I can tell that he’s happy as well — and that helps.”

After what he has been through professionally, including twice being informed by e-mail that his services were no longer required, Hill isn’t about to start making long-term residential plans in Denver.

“It’s a long season, and there’s tons of different scenarios that the team is going to be in, and we’re one group. But if I keep working, things will pan out,” said Hill, who starred at UCLA for two seasons before turning pro in Germany. “The most important thing is to be on the field, obviously, and then you get the opportunity to do things like score goals. I’ve been fortunate to get a few so far, and it’s been real nice.”

While Hill has put the ball in the back of the net three times, Pareja isn’t likely to install him as a lead striker, primarily because of his excellent passing ability.

“Kamani is not that natural striker that you can lay all that responsibility on to score the goals. I think he’s a complement for the forwards,” Pareja said. “But he has an instinct for the goal, which is great. But for that responsibility to just score the goals, you cannot just give it to him.”

Hill, whose father, Carlos, is from Trinidad and coached soccer, calls himself a “technical player” who loves to make combination passing plays. “I like to do a lot of one-touch, give-and-go kind of stuff,” he said.

Despite going from starter to seldom-used reserve for his German and Portuguese teams, Hill has few regrets about his experiences there. Even though he didn’t play a lot, it made him a better player, he said.

“I learned a lot,” said Hill, who played for the U.S. national team in 2007. “You learn how to prepare yourself mentally for all the things that can change, and how to handle it. When you’re younger, you tend to be a lot more hotheaded, and as you go through it a couple of times, you grow and you learn what you have to do in those types of situations.”

After leaving Portugal in 2011, Hill went back to his native northern California, trained on his own and resolved to make it with an MLS team. When the Rapids called, he didn’t hesitate to sign, despite the likelihood he’d be a reserve at first.

“I just wanted to be given the chance again, and right now I’m real excited to have gotten it here,” he said.

Spotlight on Donovan Ricketts: A member of last year’s MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy and the 2010 MLS goalkeeper of the year, Ricketts signed with the expansion Impact for this season. A former keeper with his native Jamaican national team, Ricketts has allowed 18 goals in 12 games with the Impact. Ricketts, 34, stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 215 pounds.

NOTEBOOK

Impact: Montreal saw its four-game unbeaten streak snapped last weekend at home to New York at Olympic Stadium. That was the last game the team will play at Olympic Stadium. Next month, it moves into a new home field — Stade Saputo. … No Impact player has more than one goal. Perhaps that is why the team on Thursday signed 35-year-old former Italian League star Marco DiVaio. He won’t be eligible to play until after the opening of the secondary transfer window June 27.

Rapids: This will be the first meeting between the Rapids (5-6-1) and the first-year Impact (3-6-3). … Omar Cummings will miss tonight’s game with a sprained left ankle, as will center back Marvell Wynne. … Forward Conor Casey is listed as doubtful with a strained hamstring. … Four of the Rapids’ next five games will be at home. … Fifteen of the 17 goals scored by the Rapids this season have come in the second half.

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